Super Bowl notes: NFL commissioner talks change
NEW YORK — If Commissioner Roger Goodell gets his way, change could be coming to the NFL.
Adding playoff teams. Monitoring instant replay from league headquarters. Possibly creating a set of guidelines to prevent locker-room bullying.
Short on details or precise timetables, and acknowledging he’ll need approval from team owners for action, Goodell painted the picture of an ever-evolving league during his annual pre-Super Bowl news conference, held Friday in a theater in midtown Manhattan.
Goodell said “there’s a lot of benefits” to increasing the postseason field from 12 to 14 clubs.
“We think we can make the league more competitive. We think we can make the matchups more competitive toward the end of the season. There will be more excitement, more memorable moments for our fans. And that’s something that attracts us,” Goodell said. “We think we can do it properly from a competitive standpoint. So this will continue to get very serious consideration by the competition committee.”
That sort of proposal would require “Yes” votes from 24 of the 32 owners.
At least one who attended Goodell’s speech, Jeffrey Lurie of the Philadelphia Eagles, sounded in favor of the idea, with a couple of caveats: He wouldn’t want to let too many teams into the postseason, and he’d like to hear more about scheduling.
“We don’t want to become like some other sports, where it’s too easy to make the playoffs,” Lurie said. “Adding one team would not put us in a counterproductive situation. But when you would play the games, I think, is very important, so that the following games, you have virtually an equal time to prepare.”
Making a not-so-subtle reference to mistakes by game officials this season, Goodell said that committee also will make recommendations to the 32 owners about having replays from all games overseen by the league office.
Major League Baseball recently joined the NHL as sports that have centralized replay systems.
“We think there’s plenty of room for us to improve the game of football, and officiating in particular. What we all want is consistency and fairness in our officiating,” Goodell said.
“I do believe there is a possibility that some version of that will occur — where our office can at least be involved with the decision. It may not make the decision,” he added, “but at least can provide some input that would be helpful to the officials on the field to make sure they’re seeing every angle.”
Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney said he needs more information before deciding whether he’d be in favor.
“Our situation is different than hockey. But I think we should look at everything,” Rooney said. “Maybe we want to expand the number of incidents that you look at. A lot of times they’ll say, ‘That’s not reviewable.’ Look into that, for example.”
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft likes the suggestion.
“Games should be standardized and have the same people making the calls,” Kraft said. “I don’t want to ever lose a game based on poor interpretation of rules by (different) officials.”
Another focal point, according to Goodell, will be preventing the kind of alleged bullying that rocked the Miami Dolphins this season.
“I’ve already begun discussions with outside parties. I’ve discussed it with the union, I’ve also met with several groups of players, individually and collectively, to talk about the circumstances. What needs to be done?” Goodell said. “Some of it will be education. Some of it possibly could be policy change.”
Speaking two days before the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks play in East Rutherford, N.J., Goodell did not respond directly to questions whether other cold-weather cities with outdoor stadiums could host NFL championship games.
During his opening remarks, Goodell said: “One unique aspect about the focus for this year’s Super Bowl has been on the weather. Of course, we cannot control the weather. I told you we were going to embrace the weather. Here we go.”
And with that, flakes of fake snow fell from the ceiling above the stage, drawing laughter.
Among other topics addressed by Goodell:
—The NFL is working to convince a federal judge in Philadelphia that the tentative $765 million settlement reached with former players who sued the league about concussions “can provide the kind of benefits that we intended, and we’re confident that we’ll get there”;
—The difficulty in selling out wild-card playoff games resulted from “mistakes that were made by us, the NFL, and our clubs,” and not fans’ fault, and that improving stadium safety “is a critical component”;
—The NFL is “not actively considering” allowing players to use marijuana for medical reasons, but “that’s something we would never take off the table, if it can benefit our players”;
—Selling out all three of next season’s games in London is “just another indication that the more we give fans in the U.K. of NFL football, the more they want” and that the possibility of placing a franchise in that country is closer to reality than a year ago;
—He deflected a question about whether he’d call a Native American a “Redskin” face-to-face, saying, “Let’s not forget this is the name of a football team.”
In other Super Bowl news:
48 STRAIGHT: Make it 48 Super Bowls in a row for Donald Crisman, Larry Jacobson and Tom Henschel.
The three fans have attended every Super Bowl. The streak began Jan. 15, 1967, when Green Bay beat Kansas City 35-10 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. They are now in the New York-New Jersey region for Sunday’s game between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium
Jacobson, 74, of San Francisco, went to the first game to impress a woman he wanted to date. His airfare, tickets, car, program and dinner for the day “cost less than $100.” The woman he eventually married, Jonell, was his date for Super Bowl XI.
Crissman, 77 of Kennebunkport Beach, Maine, was working in Denver for Capital Federal and pulled free tickets to his first three Super Bowls.
“At an early point I said this could turn into the World Series of football and I think it has,” Crisman said Friday, “and then some.”
Henschel of Natrone Heights, Pa., was working for an airline in Chicago and tending bar at night. He got to know members of the Chicago Bears, who supplied him with tickets early on.
“After three or four years, I said I have to do this every year,” Henschel said.
The trio had a fourth member until two years ago, when Bob Cook of Brown Deer, Wis. died at the age of 79. They also had a ticket for the first Super Bowl, when prices were $6, $10 or $12. Tickets to this year’s game range from $500 to $2,600.
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BEAST MODE: Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch took time Friday night to promote his Fam 1st Family Foundation.
Lynch showed up at a Times Square restaurant with his cousin, Cincinnati quarterback Josh Johnson, and Jennifer Montana, wife of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana. The promotion was for a “Beast Mode Key” necklace designed by Montana with sales benefiting Lynch’s foundation.
Lynch became the talk of Super Bowl week with his reluctance to speak to the media and made note of that in his brief comments to an audience of Seahawks fans.
“I’m pretty sure you’re all familiar with what’s been going on about the media and about that action. … Off the field is what I say I identify with. I’ve been with my cousin the last 7 years with our foundation. The football camp that has sponsored about 800 kids, giving them free clothes, free shoes and free access to a lot of things they wouldn’t be able to get without the help from us.
“We get a kick out of it because we get to come back to the neighborhood where we struggled at and give something back to the youth.”
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RADIO ROW: Radio Row at the Super Bowl had an unusual guest show on Friday.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, had a special edition of his weekly Catholic Channel show live from the broadcast center at the league’s media hotel. His guests included NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and New York Giants co-owner John Mara, who both called into Dolan on the SiriusXM set.
Dolan felt a sense of pride that the game is being played in a region also known for entertainment, communications and finance.
“To see the world zeroed in on us now for sports, Hallelujah,” Dolan said after the show. “For me to feel part of the excitement, to see all these great heroes here, I love it.”
When asked if he had been given any heavenly insight whether the Seahawks or Broncos would win, he said no.
“If I did, I would put a big bet on it and pay off St. Patrick’s Cathedral,” he said with a hearty laugh.
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RAINBOW IN THE SKY: Alaska Airlines, who has an endorsement deal with Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, is having a treat for all passengers flying from Seattle to Newark, N.J. this weekend: Skittles.
The airline posted on its Facebook page Friday that all flights to Newark will have a bag of Skittles waiting for passengers in their seats.
Of course, Skittles is the favored treat of Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch. The candy company released a special “Seattle Mix” earlier this week featuring just blue and green candies.
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BIGGEST SCOREBOARD: The Durst Organization has begun lighting the spires of One Bryant Park and Four Times Square in honor of Super Bowl.
When all the lights on the buildings are lit — along with those on neighboring skyscrapers on West 42nd Street between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue — it will form “the world’s tallest scoreboards.”
The buildings will be alternately lit orange for the Broncos and green for the Seahawks.
On Sunday, when the game begins, both spires will first be lit half-orange and half-green.
During the game, the percentage of the spire lit in each team’s color will be determined by who is winning and by what margin. Both spires will be lit in the winning team’s color after the game.
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AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner and Sports Writers Rachel Cohen and Tim Booth contributed to this report.
